


Steins;Gate : Divergence Omega

by Terroxas



Category: Steins;Gate
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27806413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terroxas/pseuds/Terroxas
Summary: Two weeks after his arrival in the Omega Attractor Field, Okabe reflects on his decisions and how it impacted the last and most important person in his life.A story Post-Isolated Jamais Vu, Faris's ending.
Relationships: Faris Nyan Nyan | Akiha Rumiho/Okabe Rintarou | Hououin Kyouma
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	1. Old Memories

“I’ll become this Worldline Okabe’s”. Sitting in a pitch-black room this was the only thought going through his mind. He’d honestly believed it had some point, he still wanted to, but it seemed that discarding his feeling for a worldline that never happened wasn’t the only thing he needed to do. He had to be part of this worldline, a place as far from him as it could be.

That’s why he was still here, in Faris’s apartment. The last place where he should’ve been able to belong, emphasis on the word should.

Faris had said that she still loved him. But he couldn’t know how much of that was addressed to him, the real him, or to the previous him, the one whom she had truly declared her love to. It was the same thing when he’d said that he wanted to fall in love with her all over again, he truly had meant it but he didn’t know what to do, he was completely lost. 

If possible, he would have tried to follow the same path the previous him did but considering that this relationship was based solely on a game he’d barely learned two weeks ago this wasn’t an option.

This was probably why he hadn’t seen Rumiho more than once since they had —or rather—since she had won the grand finals. Of course, he saw Faris every day, he saw the happy, cheerful, focused and determined cat-ear maid spouting nonsense every day, just as she saw the crazy, smart and powerful mad scientist that was in-control of any situation every day. 

But even though they saw each other all the time, they were already growing distant. Even he could see that, in fact, he could pin-point the exact moment when this started happening. It was shortly after Faris had won the tournament, the crowd had erupted into cheers, confetti had invaded the stage, he had sprouted one of his best laughs and for a second, she looked so joyful, like if everything was back to normal. She thanked her fans and to the surprise of those same fans, left uncharacteristically fast. 

Rumiho had brought him to a small café somewhere in Shibuya owned by a weird waitress cosplaying as a character from Blood Tune, apparently, this was where they’d usually celebrate their victory. They’d talk about the opponent’s strategy and how they had both easily seen through it, they’d talk about what they could improve, they’d talk about when the next tournament was going to be held and with time, they’d talk about each other. 

This had also been where she had confessed her feelings. But this confession hadn’t been for him. 

Alone in this room, alone in this place that might as well have been as huge as a castle, Okabe thought that this was for sure the time when she truly gave up on any memories from his other self coming back. Maybe he should’ve said or done something but it felt as wrong trying to pretend he remembered anything as it did trying to brush it off. That’s why he answered the call of madness, endorsed the voice of Kyouma and gave a detailed report about his fight against the Organization. 

Looking back, that is also why Rumiho had vanished in front of his very eyes. He’d only made one spun so that the hem of his coat flew up, but in that brief moment the girl in front of him was no more. In place of that unsure, shy, sweet and elegant girl was the assured maid that had just won the tournament and couldn’t be happier about the result. Her first reaction had been to energetically put both of her paw on the table and to play along his report, asking how they could both leave this place without being seen by the organization. 

As usual, her voice was glittering, a bright aura coming from her but for the first time, he hadn’t been able to see this shine in her eyes. 

She had been sad, of course, she had been and, of course, Okabe cared about it, but Kyouma didn’t, or rather, he didn’t have to care. Just like Faris hadn’t been bothered by it one bit. But this hadn’t been reality, he had used Kyouma, not to aid Mayuri but himself. He already knew the truth, just like with Kurisu, the mad scientist had to take a step back.

However, he couldn’t be sure that this was feasible, he couldn’t be sure who was the mask anymore. Who had saved Mayuri ? Who had made friends with Daru ? Who had created the lab ? Who had been able to make all those friends after being almost alone for so long ? And who had lost it all ? 

He couldn’t be certain anymore but what he knew was that it wasn’t Kyouma who was laying down in this darkness thicker than fog, it wasn’t Kyouma who was scared about losing what was left, it wasn’t Kyouma who had been anxiously thinking about this situation for days upon days and it certainly wasn’t Kyouma who had just got up to knock on Rumiho’s door. 

He knew for sure the girl was there, she’d basically been practicing Rainet online non-stop for the last two weeks. This meant that she had deliberately chosen to not answer for the last sixty seconds. But just as Okabe was about to turn around, heading back in what felt like a golden cage, he heard Faris’s voice. “The door to the promised land is unlocked, nya" 

The scientist was already accustomed enough to her speech pattern by this point to take this as what it obviously meant and so, opened the door. 

The girl had her cat-ears on as usual and despite it being at least two in the morning, she was still playing Rainet. Well, it probably wasn’t the biggest deal in itself since it was summer break and from what he had gathered, while she still worked at Mayqueen, it wasn’t nearly as frequent. 

"So you dare trespass on the holy land ? Speak your mind this instant or I will call the seven purrfect warriors of light to aid me in our legendary battle !" 

Yeah … This had basically been how the last two weeks went by. They wouldn't talk that much and during those few times both of them would somehow communicate a simple concept through their glorious yet hollow charade. 

Okabe wasn’t really bothered by it like he had been in the past, in the Alpha Worldline. In another context he was pretty sure he would have grown to love it. However, in this context, each of these discussions felt like a lie, something that brought them both some sort of ill-advised comfort while pushing them away from each other. 

That’s why, even though the call of Kyouma was strong, he couldn’t answer it.

Seeing as he wasn’t answering, Faris continued. ‘’Or maybe, you’ve come to surrender, nya ! Is this why you enter the Garden of Eden unprotected, without your shining armor ?".

He indeed had left both his coat and his phone in the other room. Something that made him uncomfortable since the weight of said coat was one of the last few regulars left in his life. That also, in terms, left him without any of his usual gimmicks. Far from Houhouin Kyouma.

Okabe opened his mouth just to realize he had come unprepared and while that usually wouldn’t have been much of a problem, he was left defenseless in this situation. Because of that, nothing but a faint sound came from his mouth. 

Faris, puzzled by what was happening questioned him with the same bubbly tone. “Kyooooooooouma, this is the moment where you ask me what’s hidden in the garden of Eden or the time where you explain your master plan !” 

This was stupid, he had already made up his mind. If he was going to be honest, he might as well be right now. ‘’Rumiho I …" 

"Rumiho ? Who is that ? Are you trying to call upon your ally ? I fear no one will come for you as I have already severed all of your communication, nya !" she declared quickly. 

The message was clear enough that even Okabe understood it quickly. But having made it that far and lacking any other options, Okabe couldn’t give up just yet. ‘’Please, listen I’m trying to be …" 

However, as soon as Okabe tried saying something again, Faris cuts him off. "I won’t listen, nya ! I can see right through your plan, you’re trying to brainwash me ! You’re trying to use your voice and the power in your left eye to control me but I won’t fall for it !" 

It was now clear to Okabe that he wasn’t going to achieve anything like this. There was no possible way to talk to Rumiho when she wasn’t even there after all. That didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything, though. Luckily, he knew exactly what to do, he just had to pry away the mask. Fortunately, he also had quite a bit of experience in that field. 

And he only needed one thing to get his plan in motion. "Heh … heh, heh, heh … MUHAHAHA. It looks as though I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you are more skilled than you appear to be Faris NyanNyan." That’s right, with the help of a friend he might be able to get through to her. It was time to start Operation Loki. 

He took a step forward and pulled out his phone before putting it against his right ear. "It appears my foe is more skilled than expected. No, I got this, I don’t need any backup. I can’t afford to lose now when everything is on the line. Tell me where I should dispose of the body in precisely an hour." 

Simply with those few words, Faris’s tense face relaxed. "Nya ? You will not even be able to lay a finger on mya ! Don’t you know that for the last millennium I have been training in the snowy mountain at the edge of the world, waiting for this moment !" 

Kyouma took another step. "How foolish of you to think that this would be enough to defeat me. I might’ve sealed the power in my left arm for good, but it would seem you never accounted for the alien in my right one !" exclaimed Houhouin before bursting into an evil laugh.

The girl’s face had been almost fully transformed from a rigid one to a more focus and playful one. It didn’t really matter if it was an act or not, everything was going according to plan. 

With that said, the Mad scientist didn’t have to wait long before being faced with a rebuttal. "Nyantastic, I wasn’t expecting you to be this prepared. Sadly for you, Faris is already well acquainted with aliens and creatures alike. After all, she first grew up in a place where she was meant to be served to demons. That is, before destroying the place with the kitten she grew up with, nya !" 

Another step. Faris’s room was, to put it bluntly, absolutely huge. So even though he had already taken multiple steps in it, he was barely at the center of it while Faris was all the way back, at her desk. 

"I see, so this was the place where you awoke to your true self Faris NyanNyan ! However, I will do you a favor, just this once, and tell you through an ingenious usage of a television, an experiment that would require at the bare minimum the IQ of Isaac Newton himself, I too have obtained those powers." 

Alright, this was starting to be a bit much. It wasn’t like Kyouma had never reached this level of craziness. He most definitely had, but usually he would quickly be stopped by someone with a lesser mind. Even in the past when he was engaged in those sorts of duel with Faris he would rarely pay this much attention and would try to get it over as soon as possible. 

The cat-eared girl seemed to think along the same lines as she staggered for a short second leaving a blank in their conversation which allowed the victor of this small battle to take another step towards his opponent. 

"Im … Impossible Nya ! How could you have awakened to your true self already ? If this is truly the case, I’ll have to call upon a forbidden technique. Oh loli goddess, Nya ! I beg of you, lend me your powers so that I can once again invert the sense of ti—…" Faris cuts herself off having seemingly realized what she just said.

Nonetheless, Kyouma didn’t care, and surprisingly enough Okabe didn’t either. The only thing Okabe cares about is how small the distance between him and Rumiho now is. He quickly takes a large step in front of her and is able to reduce the space between them to only a few centimeters. 

He grabs her shoulders and brings her closer to himself before whispering. "Sorry but I was always meant to win this fight, this was merely the will of Steins;Gate."

With that done, only one step remains in order to complete Operation Loki. Without losing anytime, Okabe slowly reaches inside both of Faris’s cat ears and unclip her headband, letting her long fuschia hair draping down her back, draping down Rumiho’s back. 

Just like that, both the epic battle and the two sides battling in it had both disappeared in an instant. What replaced both of these things where at the same time extremely obvious and completely unexpected. To the epic battle had succeeded a calm yet thick with expectations atmosphere and neither Kyouma nor Faris had a part in it. 

“Rumiho . . .” somehow, this single word managed to embarrass him a thousand more times than their previous “fight.” Goddamn it, how could this be more embarrassing in any way, he just had to say how he felt about their situation, he had to drop the act. Just this once. 

“Yeah ?” said the girl he was now practically holding. Crap, he’d let himself drift back into his own thoughts again, this was very likely his last chance to say anything.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I took away the Okabe you loved, I’m sorry I don’t remember, I’m sorry I’m not him, I’m sorry I can’t be him and I can’t apologize more that I wasn’t able to make you fall in love with me all over again," Okabe’s voice somehow remained steady but it was still far from something you would call cheerful. 

“But … I wasn’t lying when I said that I cared, I wasn’t lying when I said I was glad I had you, I wasn’t lying I said that I would be fine as long as you were there and I was telling the truth when I said I wanted to fall in love with you all over again,” Okabe said while practically whispering. He was still trying to keep his steady tone, but it wasn’t even good enough to fool himself. 

Normally, he would’ve been dead embarrassed by this point but strangely, he wasn’t feeling that shy right now. Well, this might’ve been because he wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings anymore. He was purely focused on the words he pronounced. And so, the man kept on going. “I know I can’t be him, I know I made you sad, I know that I ran away but I also know that I made a promise to you and I have to at least try and make it a—our—reality.”

It seemed that the more he talked, the easier it became. It was like he didn’t have to think about anything else but what he felt like saying. Okabe couldn’t remember that last time he had felt this way. “Our memories might only be mere illusions. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t change that, that doesn’t mean we can’t make new ones, together,” he finished saying. His throat felt like it was sand dry. It’s also at this moment that he regained consciousness of his surroundings. At this precise moment he took notice of two things, the first one was the more than obvious blush creeping across his whole face and the second was the girl right in front of him weeping in his chest. 

Rintaro hadn’t expected that, to say the least. He had been well aware he wasn’t the one she wanted here with her but had at the very least dared to hope he wasn’t too late. However, it seemed like he had once again managed to lose what was left. It was almost surprising; he didn’t even need an all-powerful organization plus the fate of the world against him to throw away what he had left. 

The time traveler wanted so badly to answer the call of madness, to vanish in an instant, replaced by a scientist who could deal with this situation without a care. But he couldn’t —wouldn’t—do it this time. Okabe had been the one to make her cry, not Kyouma. Maybe he had been too much of a coward to salvage anything in time, to uphold his promise, but he would at least take the blame as himself. 

Although, before he could keep his own train of thoughts going, he heard a weak voice coming from the small girl clinging to his white shirt damped with her own tears, "Y-yeah, let’s make new memories… together." said the delicate-looking girl, tears still in her eyes. And as relief or an emotion acquaint to it a washed over him, Okabe truly realized for the first time how beautiful Rumiho was. 

This might’ve been what this had always been about, moving past those “Illusions", those old memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading !
> 
> I plan on writing two other parts to this story, ideally I would release one every two weeks but I'm not completely sure of that yet.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment if you liked this chapter.


	2. Making Memories

“I want to make new memories together.” This was more or less what he had said and he really hadn’t meant it in a “Let’s go on a date” kind of way, in fact, he hadn’t thought about it any further than what it meant up front. But he really couldn’t have blamed anyone for thinking that this was what he had been trying to convey.  
  
Yet somehow, he was probably the only man on earth who hadn’t had the idea even cross his mind. This was probably —no definitely— why he was in this … particular situation.  
  
Once again, Okabe was sitting alone in the guest room, practically his own in fact, thinking back about the most recent events. Nonetheless, his situation was largely different from the one that he had been in a single day ago. In addition to that, he wasn’t wallowing in total despair in a pitch-black room asking himself how to salvage what he had left in, no instead he was wallowing in total despair in a well-lighted room asking himself how not to mess up his first date. _  
_  
Well, it wasn’t like he could pretend that this situation wasn’t the result of how dense he was coupled with his recent indecisiveness.  
  
The same night he had been able to reconcile with Rumiho, she had asked him to take her somewhere in two days. And while he might’ve not been exactly —or at all— ready, it did seem like a logical way to make new memories. After that, Okabe somehow made it back to his own room before collapsing onto his bed from relieve and falling asleep.  
  
The next day had been probably been the best since his arrival in the Omega Attractor field. They had both waken up pretty early, for their recent standard that is, and Faris had made breakfast. Okabe knew she was good at cooking, she did own a restaurant after all, but he was still surprised at how skilled she was. Thinking back, it was pretty funny. In a previous Worldline this home cooking had literally been a price many men had fought for and he was simply receiving it casually.  
  
Then, instead of both going back to their own rooms like they had for the last two weeks, Okabe had offered to play Rainet with her; obviously he had been aware he wasn’t even a close match, not anymore, but it was nonetheless a great opportunity to test how much he had learned of the game lately. Especially since Faris hadn’t been the only one playing Rainet online during the last two weeks. Well, he mostly did so to take his mind off his situation but still, he had played quite a lot in that short time lap.  
  
With that little bit of confidence, he then proceeded to get absolutely annihilated for the rest of the afternoon, not even taking a single game. Nevertheless, Faris had said that he had greatly improved since last time, though he couldn’t be entirely sure if that was true or purely meant to encourage him.  
  
In the end, while he hadn’t even gotten close to a win, it still felt like one. He had managed to learn a lot more about the game in only a few hours and more importantly, he had taken his first action to uphold his promise, in a form that wasn’t simple words that is.  
  
Yeah, it truly had been a great day, sure, they couldn’t pretend that they had both been entirely real. Especially since the both of them were back to their usual antics. Still, Kyouma and Faris’s presence didn’t stop Okabe and Rumiho from enjoying themselves.  
  
So if everything had been this amazing, what was the problem and why was Okabe still up past one or maybe even two AM ? Well, it was because he had managed the quite frankly incredible task of just now realizing that he was supposed to take her on a date tomorrow at one PM.  
  
In fact, the only reason has to why he realized it was Faris directly hinting at it in her excitement before going to bed.  
  
In result, Okabe made the most effective, most logical and most well thought out plan he could think about. He resorted to looking up dating advice on some “professional” websites. However, absolutely nothing seemed to match his situation and no matter where he looked nothing seemed that much better. Hell, he was so despaired that he even checked some old magazine discontinued in 2004, Cool Cat something or whatever.  
  
There was only one problem, all of those websites and magazines either assumed that you knew next to nothing about the girl you were about to date or expected you to already be in love with her. They also didn’t consider the fact that you might know a lot about them from another worldline, that one was forgivable, though, thought Okabe.  
  
Okabe spared a glance at the clock on the wall just to realize that it was indeed two in the morning. However, he still had yet to make progress. It really was one of those time where he could’ve used some help, he was quite sure that his assistant would’ve lacked just as much if not more experience than him but it still would’ve been nice to hear her opinion, not that he would’ve said that anyways.  
  
Welp, since he couldn’t find anything he would have to resort to those suggestions, there was no reason for those “pro tips” not to work after all, they did come from people with much more experience than him after all. Despite that, it still felt weirdly wrong to bring a girl like Faris in those really traditional spots, she was the kind of girl to get excited just talking about retro PC after all … wait.  
  
Okabe woke up the next day, definitely without the best sleep of his life, however. He had to get ready before leaving after all. Well, getting ready was a pretty big way of saying it since he wasn’t really planning on dressing up any different from usual. He simply took a quick shower before slightly shaving and putting on his trusty lab coat.  
  
It really dawned on him how much this was a gamble when he reached for the doorknob, maybe he had already gone wrong and made all the wrong decisions, in spite of that, he really couldn’t back out anymore so he twisted the doorknob and slowly stepped outside.  
  
As soon has he set one foot in the hallway he heard the exact voice he was expecting. “Kyooouma, I thought you had forgotten about our date ! You’re so mean, nya !” Tears were already starting to fill her eyes before he could even place a single word in the conversation. Even so, she kept on looking right in his eyes. It didn’t really matter, however, as Okabe was now able to recognize that cheap trick for what it really was, a simple trick. Those tears were obviously far from real and he wasn’t about to be duped.  
  
Instead, he focused his attention on what she was wearing. The most obvious change was that she had exchanged her usual maid outfit or orange dress for a light blue and white one, it also had a much simpler design compared to her usual one, it was overall much more casual looking. The same kind of color pallet had been applied to her leggings that were white just like her shoes. Maybe this was what she usually wore when she wasn’t at home or working thought Okabe before realizing that this probably wasn’t a frequent occurrence.  
  
However, what really caught his attention was the only part of her clothing that hadn’t changed one bit, her cat ears were still in place as usual. Okabe felt somewhat guilty about it but this simple sight made him feel more at ease.  
  
She was without a doubt pretty and to be honest, Okabe wouldn’t have minded that much staring at her for a couple more second but now was most definitely not the time, he had to get moving and the quickest way would very likely be to call out her trap. “You devilish cat ! Do not expect the great mad scientist Houhouin Kyouma to fall for such a puny trick ! And do not underestimate me once again or it will be your down fall, I would obviously never forget about such an experiment !” The fact that he didn’t know about it less than 24 hours ago really didn’t need to be revealed right now.  
  
“As of now, follow me to the experiment location ! I have taken control over all of this city for it,” announced Kyouma before letting an evil laugh escape his throat. The man then started making a bee line toward the exit.  
  
Before leaving Okabe thought to himself that his goal of letting Kyouma rest for the majority of today might me much harder than he had expected. **  
  
**A couple of minutes later, they were about to reach the first spot Okabe had selected, it was a somewhat hidden street with a lot of retro games and PC shops, the reason he had selected it was to appeal to Rumiho’s passion for old computers and while he had doubted his own idea earlier, he felt more confident right now, especially because everything was going unexpectedly well.  
  
Okabe had feared he wouldn’t have anything to talk about with Faris, not that they didn’t have anything in common, they liked pretty much the same things. The problem was that every single site and books he had read the previous night had all made one thing clear, he was not to talk about stuff like games, anime and alike and even though he had doubted his ability to do so, the time traveler was fully committed to it.  
  
Well, that was until Faris started talking about it herself like it was no big deal. He thought a little about it before rolling with it, it was more fun and felt much more natural to do so. It also made it feel like they were just hanging out, which was probably for the best since they weren’t really a couple.  
  
But while they weren’t a couple, they surely did look like one and, while they officially weren’t one, it didn’t stop their fans from “shipping” them. Because of that, going to those back-alley shops at been quite an adventure for them, but mostly for Okabe. Sure, he was used to pretending to be important and chased after, much less to **actually** be chased after. Well, that was somewhat of an exaggeration they weren’t that famous. Still, they had gotten stopped by a few fans on their way and while Faris seemed quite use to it Okabe was far from ready. Luckily, he quickly figured out that letting Kyouma handle it was the best course of action.   
  
On top of that, those weird interactions were intersected by men shooting him either envious or deadly glare, no thought was really needed as to why, however. He was with one of the cutest, most popular, most desired girl of Akihabara after all.  
  
This simple walk really made Okabe grateful to Faris for not having announced anything concerning their relation after she had won the Grand Finals against the Viral Attackers.  
  
All of this made it quite hard for Okabe and Rumiho to interact much, but at the very least it didn’t stop Kyouma and Faris from having a good time.  
  
As he finished his train of thought, Kyouma and Faris both emerged from a small street, it had been a while since anyone had stopped or recognized them, sign that they had seemingly arrived. “It seemed we have finally arrived to our first stop for this experiment, now, let us enter !” Boasted Kyouma, before going in.

As planned, this was a small yet professional shop full of retro consoles, games and old PCs. he’d went to that spot with Daru a few times, in another Worldline that is.  
  
Though that fact was far from important, what mattered at the moment was the girl in front of him that seemed to be in pure glee. “Is… Is this really an MC-777 ?” Faris exclaimed, though it seemed that it was one of those rare times were her cat-like behavior was absent. As for Okabe, he would’ve usually been really excited for, well basically everything in this store, but right now, those things seemed meaningless. Strangely enough, relieve wasn’t exactly what he felt this time, instead of simply being alleviated to see that he hadn’t messed up, he simply found enjoyment in seeing the girl smile, looking so carefree.  
  
“Woah, and there are so many NSX units over there too ! Hey, Kyouma, come here, come here !” Called Rumiho before running to another part of the store.  
  
If this was how she looked when she didn’t have to worry about her own problems then maybe, just maybe, this Worldline was better than Okabe had initially envisaged it to be. “Yeah, I’m on my way, wait for me,” he said with a smile of his own.  
  
The next few hours flew by in what seemed like seconds, the both of them were able to indulge in a really niche hobby with someone who understood it exceptionally well and though they didn’t buy much, even though Faris would’ve very likely been able to buy the whole building, they were completely spent afterward.  
  
By the time they started heading out of the shops, dusk was already starting to settle, and they didn’t have much more to do other than going back since they both had already eaten together not long ago.  
  
Considering this, it was more than time to head back, especially since the sun was about to set soon, and even if Okabe would’ve liked to keep the moment going, he decided to do the rational thing for once, from his point of view at least. “It would seem my experiment was successful yet again, that is without a surprise, however, as I am the insane mad Scientist Houihouin Kyouma, the man with an IQ competing the one of Albert Einstein himself ! As of now, it is time to head back,” clamored Kyouma.  
  
Okabe might’ve been able to not request as much assistance from the mad scientist during the last few hours since Rumiho had been so natural, but she had ended up going back to her usual behaviors as of late and more importantly, he had no idea how to suggest that they head back and didn’t want to keep pushing his luck since everything was going so well.  
  
When she heard this, Faris abruptly turned around and stared in his eyes for a few second like she had done multiple times those last hours before saying in an exaggerated way, “Hmnya, yeah you’re right, but we have to be careful ! The organization might be on our tracks, we can’t afford to get careless and take the same route again. I have an escape plan, follow mya !” She announced before taking his hand and starting to run at the exact opposite of where they were supposed to go.  
  
They ran in this fashion for a little bit before slowing down. While recovering, Okabe thought for a second about the direction they had just went in, since it was at the polar opposite of their destination and they were unlikely to turn back, it would probably take at the very least 45 minutes to get back to Faris’s apartment, long enough for the night to set in.  
  
A faint laugh brings the scientist back to reality, a laugh coming from the only other person in the street. She turns around and looks directly at him once again before teasingly saying, “It would seem the Organization was better prepared than I anticipated, nya. We have no other choice but to slow down so that they can’t locate us,” and as she finishes, she flashes a smile at Okabe and starts walking forward, practically answering his own thoughts.  
  
Well, it wasn’t like he really minded, he thought while picking up the pace and for a while none of them said anything. Simply basking in the empty and secret streets of Akihabara in which people had been replaced by the orange glow of dusk.  
  
However, this dreamlike moment came to end at the same time as the warm light disappeared, replaced by the cold lights of the city. Surprisingly, those things weren’t the only things that had been replaced. The streets had been to, the unknown yet empty streets had been replaced by a more than familiar location, a location that was just as empty and devoid of life.  
  
The time traveler hadn’t noticed it before stopping dead in his track right in front of it but he was now standing right beside the Future Gadget Laboratory, or rather, a vacant room.  
  
Faris once again turned toward him, asking him if everything was alright. Before he could even think further about how to answer, he just went with his default answer. “It’s nothing, I was simply contemplating how to bring Chaos to this world through my evil and ingenious schemes !” He exclaimed in an over-the-top voice before taking a step forward, wishing to get as far as possible from this place.  
  
Yeah, this was the best thing he could do. He didn’t want to ruin this day or burden her with a Worldline that had never truly existed in the first place. Anyways, it wasn’t like it was this hard to pretend. After all, Kyouma was excellent at the job, it came naturally and from experience he could confirm that no one would ever see through it bec …— “You’re lying,” it had been so fast he wasn’t even sure he had truly heard it.  
  
“Eh, what … did you say ?” He questioned, puzzled.  
  
“I said that you are lying,” her tone was flat, it wasn’t cold or anything aggressive but it didn’t leave any place to doubt.  
  
It was easy to decipher, Faris was gone, gripping Kyouma so that he would follow after. That was close enough to Okabe’s first thought in this situation, though he didn’t need to wait long to confirm it has Rumiho took off her cat-ears in the blink of an eye after having made sure nobody was here.  
  
However, just as she was about to add something, Kyouma asserted himself. “Have you finally fallen under their control ? Quick, we have to run away, we can’t allow them to see your true form just yet !” He prayed that would be enough to get them away from their current location.  
  
“No need to fear, I have the whole Organization under control for now, I gave them a false position, so we have more than enough time,” it seemed like something Faris could’ve told any time, something nonsensical without any meaning. Except that this time her usually enthusiastic intonation had given place to a calm and gentle one.   
  
Even Okabe could see where she wanted to go, though he was intent on stopping her from reaching it, for her own good. Luckily for him, Kyouma was more than used to being shut down by others so he already had another rebuttal ready, he pulled out his phone before announcing in a grandiloquent voice, “Hmh, yes I see, Titans are going to destroy the city you say ? Yes, yes I hear I will make sure the wall doesn’t fall, just give me a bit more—…” but before he could finish, a hand reached for his phone, taking it from him.  
  
“No need to worry, I already have class 1-A on it, everyone will be saved, no need to worry,” and with those words, she turned off the phone, effectively rendering Kyouma powerless and prying him away from Okabe.  
  
And while he meant to say something back, the pure surprise from those last minutes was finally enough to completely stun him and from what was probably fear that he would collapse, Rumiho brought him to the closest bench, the one right beside the CRT shop, the usual one, the one where he had willingly shared his problems, how ironical.  
  
But before he could start spacing out, a soothing voice reached him, “You know, I remembered something earlier, when we were at those old shops, I remembered what my father would tell me while we were in those same places, he’d say, “Rumiho … I wonder how much longer you’ll be going out with me like this… When you finally find that special someone, they’ll be the one standing here with you, not me…” At that time I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant but what I was sure about was that even if I was to find that “special someone” that it wouldn’t ever stop me from being with him,” she took a small break to look at the person beside her, he seemed to be listening, not planning to say anything yet.  
  
So, she continued, “And… If I get to truly be able to do that, to have that “special person” and still be able to be with my dad, it’s because of you, it’s because in both of our worlds you chose to help me without expecting anything in return. So if … if I truly still have the right to love you, like you said, then I’d like to hear what is wrong directly from you, just so that I can be there,” as she finished, a faint blushed inched onto her face, though that was not enough to make her look away.  
  
It was rare enough to see her be shy but Okabe was pretty sure it was the first time he saw her like that. Why he was thinking about this right now, however, he had no idea.  
  
One part of him desperately wanted to say everything, he had already told her so much too and she had said she cared, she had sounded genuine too but another part himself, perhaps a more calculative one —or was it the part that was scared ?— wanted to push back, he might’ve made it to a place where nobody was in risk of imminent death but it was exactly why he couldn’t risk messing this up.  
  
While he still wasn’t sure what to do, he did have a question that needed an answer to as well, “And how can you be so sure something is wrong eh ?” His voice was weak, almost like a child.  
  
“Ignoring the look on your face, you stopping right in front of an empty building and how you acted, it would be Cheshire Break,” She let out a faint laugh, but while it was directed at how obvious he had been, it wasn’t mean-spirited at all. Just after this small pause, her voice picked back up. “I … I’m sorry for not asking directly before, I was scared, I didn’t want to mess up so I abused it…” She truly did sound sorry, though her eyes were still on him.  
  
So that was why she had been gazing directly into his eyes so much, eh. Obviously, Okabe already knew about her “power,” it was a big part of her success in Rainet and she had even used it on him before but he had never even considered that fact that this skill could be so powerful has to render Kyouma virtually useless. This thought was both refreshing and terrifying but what it meant most was that she already knew —at least a little bit— about what she was asking.   
  
This simple concept, the simple idea that even if she already knew how painful Okabe’s stories would be, she still wanted to listen and that she wouldn’t crumble under their weight, that was enough for him to give in to the emotional part of himself, to answer her questions. Okabe told Rumiho about the lab, their previous friends, the time machine and about Mayuri, but while doing so, he finally had the chance of knowing that the person he was talking to could understand, at least as much as someone who wasn’t himself could. At last, he had the luxury of knowing that things would finally stay the way they were. The fact that Rumiho already had a solid grasp on what he was talking about due to Cheshire break also made it much easier on him, even more so than the numerous times he had told Kurisu.   
  
He wasn’t exactly sure how long he talked, but it was enough for the last ray of natural light to entirely vanish, leaving only the cold and calculated lights to illuminate Tokyo. Through all of it, Rumiho never talked, she simply wore that considerate and kind expression while listening and gently smiling at him and for the time, it was enough, for that instant, the second time this day, it made it all worth it.  
  
She’d said earlier that he had helped him so much but it was hard to know how much he believed it himself, especially because he couldn’t ever have made it in this place without her.  
  
It was probably time for both of them to go, though nobody was waiting for them since both of her parents were still on a business trip and Kuroki was very likely home by now. That’s why none of them moved. That and also because Okabe kind of felt like crying, though he felt too … too at ease at the same time to do so, so he simply smiled, looking up toward the moon.  
  
Maybe it was wrong to admit it, even if just to himself, but he had been jealous of the previous Okabe, the one he had replaced. He seemed like someone who was truly confident, someone who knew what he wanted in life, someone much better with girls and someone who would always know more about the girl right beside him than he ever would.  
  
But right now, at this moment, he felt like it wasn’t the case, the previous one never could’ve had this moment, he never could’ve gotten to discover this incredible girl like this, he had done so through a game instead and most importantly this Okabe, not the previous, would be the one who would keep learning about her.  
  
It was weird, Okabe had felt a similar thing two days ago when he had finally been able to talk to her, but it wasn’t exactly the same. At the time he had simply said what felt right but right now, it felt like he wouldn’t need to hide anymore. It’s like … like she understood enough of him, in the same way Mayuri did but could also pinpoint the cause with precision the same way Kurisu had done before. It made pretending pointless, and what should’ve been extremely scary —not being able to keep information to himself— made him feel free.  
  
He couldn’t say that this was a huge revelation or even that he had known her for all his life, he couldn’t even say if he truly loved her. What he did know, however, was that he hadn’t ever felt that way before. What he did know was that he wanted to keep being by her side, to take another step forward toward his promise. To truly be himself, not the past Okabe or a being from the Alpha Worldline.  
  
After a while, Rumiho shyly broke the silence, “You know, after I con …—talked to you after the semifinals, you told me that I should stop calling you Kyouma, you asked to call you Rintaro. I never really gave it a go though but, could I … Would that be alright if I did so now ?”  
  
Okabe thought it only made sense, she had asked him to call her Rumiho so it was likely he had requested the same out of her back then. Plus, she didn’t mind him calling her by her given name at all. No really, there wasn’t any reason to hesitate. The only reason has to why he waited was so that he could finally take a few seconds to contemplate her being completely flustered with nothing to hide behind.  
  
Still, his answer came soon after, though not in the way she had expected it to be, “I must have told you that after you confessed eh… I just don’t know if we’re there just yet,” he didn’t look at her, instead shifting his gaze to the moon, it was a full moon, the only thing illuminating the sky since all of the stars had been rendered invisible because of Tokyo’s lights.  
  
He then proceeded to also change to subject toward what he was gazing at, “I haven’t just looked at it in a long time, it’s pretty sad how we can’t see the stars from right here but it makes it stand out even more, don’t you think ?” He took a long breath to calm himself down, not shifting his eyes in the least and then, before receiving any kind of answer, kept on going. “Yeah, it really does. The moon is beautiful isn’t ?”  
  
He knew, he knew that on top of this being extraordinarily clumsy, he had lost the right to call anyone else a tsundere. But most importantly, he knew that this was such a chuunibyou way of talking that nobody would’ve understood it, except her.  
  
Okabe felt her grabbing him by the collar, slowing pulling him close to her and, almost on instinct, he sensed his eyes closing.  
  
He could feel how close he was to her at this moment, “Open your eyes,” it wasn’t an order but a request; still, he felt compelled to do so.  
  
Opening his eyes, he noticed the mere millimeters separating his face from hers.   
  
The next thing he noticed was the warmth of her lips combined with a sweet, fruity taste. It wasn’t the first time they kissed, but it was the first time it felt real and it was the first time they were able to see each other for who they were.  
  
After what felt like only a fraction of a second, they pulled away, “That surely is … a new memory. Together,” it was a murmur, so quiet Okabe barely heard it. Though he made sure his answer was audible. “Good thing that we talked about making **memories** ,” he said before pulling her closer.  
  
This might’ve always been the answer, the reason as to why he wasn’t fated to always be lesser than the previous Okabe or to eternally be a space-time castaway. It might’ve always been about making memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a bit longer than expected but I finally finished this chapter. I really underestimated how much I wasn’t used to reading Slice of Life and Romance, ended up making this harder to write since I had very little to base myself out of. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, do feel free to leave a comment about it. I’d love to hear it.


	3. Future Memories

“I love you.” Well, that wasn’t exactly what he had said and he surely hadn’t been this smooth and decisive about, those words were a better fit to describe Rumiho. Still, it was hard to believe that any of this really mattered, especially after her reaction.  
  
Those were the thoughts going through Okabe’s head has he laid in bed, observing the sun slowly raising above Akihabara. A sight that would’ve been impossible to observe had he been in his own room back at home, in fact, it would’ve been equally impossible to admire this view from the guest room he had acquainted himself too. As a matter of fact, there were only two places in the apartment with such an outstanding display, the living room and Rumiho’s bedroom.  
  
Seeing as though he wasn’t in the former, that left him with only one option. He would’ve doubted the reality of the situation had Rumiho not been peacefully sleeping beside him, she looked so quiet it was hard to believe she was able of her usual antics, a view that suddenly gave him the urge to run his hand through her hair.  
  
Taking a step back, Okabe quickly found himself embarrassed at himself for having shifted all his attention to his girlfriend, in fact, simply thinking of her as such in his own mind was more than enough to turn the shade of his skin into something more akin to a tomato rather than human skin. It probably was a good thing that the only one able to notice him at the moment was still sleeping.  
  
On further study, this sort of embarrassment wasn’t exactly new considering what had happened during the last week after their date. Something that was mostly due to Kyouma having been rendered virtually useless by Cheshire Break, but surprisingly, Okabe still didn’t find it to be a bad thing.  
  
Sure, it was weird, to say the least, and he wasn’t used to being direct at all which sometimes —or most of the time— made the situations he found himself in lately even more awkward but it really wasn’t that bad, especially because he finally knew that someone was both ready to listen to him while also being able to understand what he was talking about.  
  
That didn’t mean he was about to give up on Kyouma, however. There were multiple reasons for that but two stood out more than the others; firstly, he had found out lately that the mad scientist could be a valuable asset in making Rumiho laugh and alleviating her mind from more serious matter, a perfect combination between making her smile and not having to embarrass himself more than need be. Secondly, if he was planning on … staying close with Rumiho he would need to keep being her Rainet partner, the perfect place for Kyouma to shine.  
  
Well, that wasn’t entirely true, Okabe knew that she wouldn’t ditch him if he was to give up on Rainet but he had taken an unexpected liking to the game as of late and had been improving surprisingly fast compared to when he had just started, at least according to Rumiho. Sure, she was still leagues above his level but he was intent on changing that, after all, he knew without the shadow of a doubt this was possible since he had recently discovered that the previous Okabe had been ranked even higher than her on the online leaderboards, presumably because she couldn’t use Cheshire Break against online opponents.  
  
Thinking about it, it was pretty funny, it seemed lately that almost all of his biggest life changing events, except one, revolved around Rainet. In fact, the game had played a big part in him ending up sleeping where he was.  
  
It had been two days since his discussion with Rumiho and he wanted to at least try being more honest, even if it was just with her. She had said she wanted to hear his thoughts from him and not to abuse her talent after all.  
  
Trying to be more honest, that's why when she told him that it might be best to skip the next few tournaments he opposed it, not as Kyouma but as Okabe, though he conveniently didn’t mention the reason. It might’ve been silly but he wanted to share the spotlight with her again, this time without being crushed by the worries of a new and unknown attractor field.  
  
Much to his surprise, however, she accepted his request the second his sentence was over, seemingly ecstatic at the idea even if his level was nowhere near good enough to be of any aid to the champion. Still, it wasn’t because his skill didn’t bother her that he was going to give up on trying to improve.  
  
It was this exact train of thought that leads them to practice during the whole day, a day that ended up leaving Okabe without a single victory, though he did come close to winning a few times but he wasn’t sure if that was due to him or luck. Nonetheless, this constant streak of defeat didn’t stop him from getting fulling engrossed in the game, so much that neither of them noticed the hour.  
  
And while that wasn’t much of a problem, none of them had much —if anything— to do tomorrow anyways, it became one when Okabe came back from the bathroom to find Rumiho quite literally asleep over the game.  
  
After further inspection, Okabe had decided to carry her back to her own room, judging that he wasn’t likely wind up being slapped or thrown on the ground due to his newly acquired status, a risk he would never have taken with someone like Kurisu, he still cared too much about his own life to do so.  
  
The girl didn’t budge at all when he lifted her and even though he didn’t consider himself to be physically strong —because he wasn’t— he found her to be rather light and had no problem carrying her back to her room.  
  
He quickly put her to bed and though he did find the sight of her sleeping like to be dangerously cute he did not linger to look at her, finding the action to be way too weird and embarrassing.   
  
Thought he quickly found out that if something weird was to happen it wasn’t going to be this simple and much less because of him, that is to say that just after turning his back to leave, he found his feet leaving the ground, feeling himself being pulled back by the back of his shirt’s collar. Next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on a bed in total and utter confusion.  
  
The next thing he heard was so ridiculous that he could easily remember the whole scene even now, it had gone something like that.

* * *

  
Soon after he came in contact with the bed, a voice reached his ears, only adding to his confusion, it was Faris’s voice. “NyanNyan ? Since when do you carry girls into a bedroom while they’re sleeping Kyouma ?” She teased him. Clearly, she hadn’t been asleep the whole time, though he was too much at a lack of words to say anything.   
  
“Were you planning on experiencing on a poor, defenseless young maiden ? How evil, only a genius of evil, bringer of chaos, mad scientist such has you would be able of such a thing, nya !” Faris continued, seemingly not expecting an answer yet.  
  
In sheer confusion, the only thing Okabe could do, still on his back, was to glance further back where he saw Faris, cat-ears having magically appeared on her while he wasn’t looking, somehow managing to confuse him even further.   
  
This time, he did try to say something but he didn’t even get the luxury of saying a single word before Faris pursued her accusations. “Or is it that I am the invaluable patient zero ? The purrfect way to stop the zombie infection from spreading ? But then, what are you going to do, nya ?” She hugged herself. “I thought we were fated to meet once again under those cherry trees in 10 years to make our love eternal, didn’t our blood oath mean anything to you, nya ?”  
  
Of course, he’d never made any promise under some cherry tree, in fact, he’d never been under any cherry tree alone with Faris but that much wasn’t really a surprise neither was it the source of his confusion. No, the confusion came with another question of his, why she was acting like this now and most importantly, what she wanted from him. After all, she wasn’t the kind of person to hesitate, usually she would ask him directly.  
  
The goal was obvious, he needed to uncover the truth, navigating a sea of lies, a job that was perfectly suited for Kyouma. Even if he hadn’t made much use of the mad scientist in the last two days, he slipped the mask on effortlessly, one thing would be different this time, however, Kyouma wouldn’t be used to hide information but rather to obtain it.  
  
First, he pulled out his phone before putting it against his ear, not bothering to turn it on. “Hello, yes I located the target yet again. What, you want me to capture her without destroying the entirety of Japan ? But the seal on my left hand is weakening ! Yes, yes I see, no one will be made aware of my actions. El Psy Kongroo.” He closed his phone before redirecting his eyes toward Faris.  
  
“Now then devilish cat-girl, what do you desire as to spare the lives of this city ? Is it a donation to a fake god of delivery or perhaps a sacrifice to the Supreme Overlord of Ice ?”  
  
“Sparing ? I’d nyaver thought a master of mayhem such as yourself would know about such a word ! I can’t believe it, have you already been alive for more than 81 900 hours and lost all your memories, funnyu ?”  
  
Alright, admittedly this was proving harder than he had expecting it to be but then again, it was Faris he was talking to. Plus, everything was still going according to plan, for the time being.  
  
He shifted his gaze back to the ceiling, not wanting to let her utilize Cheshire Break in case she changed her mind. “Fear not as through my immensely brilliant inventions I rendered my lifespan equal to the number of digits of π, infinite.”  
  
“But then, why do you want to save those people ? Could it be that you want to use them as guinea pigs for your human experiences ?” Maybe it was because it’d been interacting with her every day but something definitely seemed off about her speech pattern, she had her usual excitement but it was like she was trying to achieve something.  
  
“Precisely, I would expect no less from my nemesis. I will upload my brain into a satellite to attain Singularity and then take over the world using brainwashing, taking over this town is only the mere beginning. Now, state your request or die where you stand !”  
  
“Hmnya, do you hear them ? The infected are coming, I nyaver thought they would make it here, they should’ve already been affected by the curse of the abyss, nya ! Here is the deal then, defend this place using your superior intellect and I will lend you the life of those from this city !”  
  
It was at that moment that a thought started creeping its way in the head of the man behind the mask, though he waved it away finding it ridiculous.  
  
In need of more information, Kyouma kept on the offensive. “Needing protection I see, do you believe the mighty Houhouin Kyouma would fall for such a puny trick ? My exceptional mind is well aware of your abilities, you need me not as to survive this incoming wave of death, your abilities could easily rip them apart.”  
  
“Do not underestimate them, nya ! If those things were able to make it here, they could probably take on Ares himself. Their power is such that I don’t even need to trap you to assure you fulfill our deal, they are already blocking the only way out, nya !”  
  
Wait … that was strange, almost like Okabe’s suspicion were correct. No, the idea was closer to delusion than reality thought Okabe. Still, as long as he was careful there was little risk of him looking like a total fool, meaning he could still try to push further for answers.   
  
“Hm, I see it seemed that for once you have managed to out maneuver me Faris NyanNyan, curse you. To ensure the protection of this land we will initiate operation Eir, now which of your divine incantations will we put to use ?”  
  
Propping herself back up, Faris explained her plan as though it had been thought upon for days. “Faris will use her secret talent called Unbreakable Vessel to create a dome around this room that will protect us from the attack. It’ll last during the whole nyaight, that should be long enough for the monster to disappear but just in case it’s not, that’s where you’ll come in ! You’ll have to use the key you discover in the realm of darkness to lock this room from _them_ , nya !”   
  
So he had been right then … probably ? Well, it was more that even though he had gotten particularly good at deciphering what Faris was saying he didn’t want to jump the gun, especially if he was wrong. Plus, he knew the mad scientist was about to reach a definitive answer, he just had to be slightly more patient.  
  
“I see, a seal to repel the demons raiding the promise land. Meaning no one could get in our out, is that correct ? If that is, I have to say, your skills are truly tremendous, that might be way only I can match them, you would be of great use in our fight against the Organization.”  
  
There, the answer he was looking had to be in her next reply, a use of words befitting of the mad scientist himself. Though he had yet to decide what he would answer her and how he would act upon it.  
  
“Exactly, nya ! No one can traverse the almighty dome ! Sadly, Faris can’t join in your fight against your mortal enemies, but that’s only because Faris is for everyone !”  
  
OK, so he finally had an answer. Sure, Okabe didn’t have the slightest plan as to what to do now but that didn’t mean he necessarily _had_ to panic. What it did mean was that he _was_ panicking.  
  
This recent realization made him understand the other advantage in not directly facing the cat-eared maid, she couldn’t see his reaction, something that gave him a bit more time to plan out an answer.  
  
Okabe now knew from experience that Kyouma wouldn’t last long if he was to face Faris now. A situation that left both the scientist and mad scientist combined only three options.  
  
The first, most tempting and easiest one was to keep playing along and decline to then run away. After all, it seemed quite obvious that she was leaving him an easy way out, something that couldn’t be accidental.  
  
The second option was the one requiring the most finesse. However, if it was well executed —which it would be with the help of Kyouma— it would avoid any unpleasant situation and wasn’t likely to bring any major change, allowing him to comply without directly doing so.   
  
The third one was the one he picked.  
  
Okabe sat back up, still avoiding Faris’s eyes by facing the other side of the room, he used the voice of Kyouma, this time not as a mask but a tool. “Asking me to sleep here, is that it ?” That was indeed the voice of Kyouma, however, those weren’t his words. Something she would’ve very easily noticed usually, after all, the undying phoenix himself couldn’t be bothered with such pitiful subjects.   
  
Not letting himself any time to get flustered, the scientist followed through. To start, he finally shifted his sight toward his girlfriend and looked in her pink eyes. This time he used his own voice, one that was slightly higher pitch. “I know you wanted me to be more truthful so … so I’d like you to do the same and if you want me to stay here I wouldn’t mind.” He finished, not yet having fully processed what he had said, a perfect way to delay the imminent wave of fluster that was about to drown him but before that, he used that time to decipher her expression, not knowing what to expect.  
  
Yet, the last time he didn’t know what to expect he received a kiss, proof that this shouldn’t go to poorly. To his surprise, however, at the same moment he got hit with otherworldly levels of embarrassment, a sound reached him. It was a laugh, a devilish one at that. Obviously, it could only come from the single other person in the room; yet he found himself surprised at this logical fact. What was even more surprising, however, was that he didn’t disappear in an instant, something that definitely would’ve happened if he had had the power to.  
  
Anyhow, before he could get any deeper in his thought a way too light-hearted voice reached his ears. “NyanNyan, how could a mad scientist say something like that ? Have you been brainwashed, nya ?” She leaned toward him while maintaining her overly interrogative look, putting her hand on the bed for support. “Anyaways, Faris would love to accept, since you are the one asking but I must refuse for the same reason I did in one of my other lives when you asked me to fight against your mortal enemies, Faris is for everyone, nya !”  
  
Alright, to be honest, Okabe wasn’t even sure what was happening as he was to focus on how much of a fool he had made out of himself. So much so that he was already readying himself for the quickest retreat in history, with the goal of reaching his own room, this time perhaps the one at his parent’s place.  
  
That panic was what led him to get tackled, finding himself in disbelief yet again. With a single look, Okabe saw Rumiho partly over him, her head above his neck. Her cat ears having magically vanished once again, letting her long pink hair brush against Okabe’s face. “But Rumiho is only for one person.”  
  
Admittedly, having just been tackled this way plus hearing that was enough to change Okabe’s mind, though it hardly lessened the embarrass.

* * *

  
Still in Rumiho’s room, Okabe thought common sense should’ve dictated that, in insight, everything would be at least decently less embarrassing. And in insight, Okabe thought that this “common sense” was one of the biggest lies I’d ever heard.  
  
Still, knowing the result it was hard to say that it’d been a bad decision. Plus, neither of them had to go through this hassle the next days, something that was due to Rumiho being much more direct those times. It was… Nice to know that nobody he cared about would be found hurt —or worst— when he woke up. Having the most important girl in his life by his side when he opened his eyes served has a good reminder of that and though he was still far from openly admitting such a thing, he could at least admit it to himself.  
  
That was partly why he wasn’t worried about Yukitaka, Rumiho’s father, coming back tonight. From what he had gathered, the man seemed easy-going and apparently had him in high regards, in fact, he had directly told him, and Okabe knew very well how great his relation was with his daughter. Okabe only wished that Rumiho’s father wouldn’t get any wrong ideas, though that seemed quite literally impossible since he had knowingly left his daughter practically alone with him during a whole month while being well aware of their relationship.  
  
Oh well, that was far from the worst he’d endured. He had more pressing matters at hands right now, Kyouma and Faris had to attend their next Rainet tournament in a few hours after all.

Okabe looked back at Rumiho, this time ignoring the embarrassment he felt at the thought that she was cute before gently running his hand in her long silky hair, slowly waking her up.  
  
Taking a few seconds, she stretched slowly before looking up to face him. A gesture that allowed him to pear into her acorn eyes, a natural color with a simple light pink reflect in them that he could only witness when she woke up, before she put on her pink lenses. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the subject he was directing them to. “Too bad I’m not Sleeping Beauty, right ?” A grin forming on her face.   
  
“What do you…” —he realized— “mean…” A blush already creeping his face.  
  
At the same time a light-hearted laugh reached his ears, he couldn’t help but think that those interactions were special, they seemed like something that should’ve been possible anywhere, yet the time traveler couldn’t see another Worldline where this could happen, another thing he had never suspected about a Worldline he had never envisioned before.

It seemed —no it was— weird to say but Okabe felt excited about this future, the one fate had dealt to him. He felt excited about leaning a game he would have never cared about otherwise, he felt excited about going in tournament and making people smile, he felt excited about meeting his number one fan ; a certain super hacka and he was thrilled to do all of it with Rumiho.  
  
Yeah, he couldn’t wait to make those future memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm finally done with this. It was a fun experience, especially considering this is basically the first thing I write. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, would definitely enjoy reading what everyone thought of this fic.


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